The AFV 432 is the armoured personnel carrier
variant of the British Army's FV 430 series of armoured fighting
vehicles.

Although the FV432 Series was to have been phased
out of service in favour of newer vehicles such as the Warrior and
the CVR(T) series, they are now gradually being upgraded to extend
their service through into the next decade.

The AFV 432
is NBC proof and when necessary, can be converted for swimming, when
it has a water speed of 6km/h. Properly maintained, it is a rugged and
reliable vehicle with a good cross country performance. The most
serious drawback is the lack of vision ports for the crew and their
subsequent disorientation after dismounting.

In July 2006 the UK MoD announced the provision, for Iraq, of around
70 uparmoured and upgraded FV430 troop carriers (Bulldog), in addition
to the 54 already on contract Deliveries started in late 2006.

For counter-insurgency operations the up-armoured FV430 will provide a
similar level of protection to Warrior and the vehicle will be able to
carry out many of the same tasks as Warrior, thereby relieving the
pressure on heavily committed Warrior vehicles in armoured infantry
battle groups.

AFV 432 Specifications

Type

Tracked multi-role
armoured personnel carrier

Manufacturer

GKN
Defence

Crew

2 + 10 troops

Weight
loaded

15,280kg

Length

5.25m

Width

2.8m

Height

2.28m

Ground Pressure

0.78kg squared

Max Road Speed

52km/h

Max Road Range

580km

Fuel Capacity

454 litres

Powerplant

Rolls Royce K60
producing 240hp

Vertical
Obstacle

0.9m

Trench
Crossing

2.05m

Gradient

60 degrees

Armour

12.7mm max

Armament

One 7.62mm machine gun, two three
barrel smoke dispensers

Performance

Max speed 52km/h, range 580km

Variants

The armoured personnel carrier role
has been taken over by the Warrior; however the AFV 432 is still
employed as a command vehicle, an ambulance, cargo carrier,
recovery vehicle and communications vehicle